QuickTime VR Authoring Software

QuickTime VR (virtual reality) (also known as QTVR) is a type of image file format supported by Apple's QuickTime. It functions as a plugin for the standalone QuickTime Player, as well as working as a plugin for the QuickTime Web browser plugin, which can be used to create and view 360° panoramas or objects through images taken at multiple viewing angles.

Easypano has developed QuickTime VR authoring applications to create QuickTime VR content of both 360° panoramas and objects.

QuickTime VR Panoramas Authoring Software - Panoweaver.

VR Panoramas are panoramic images which surround the viewer with a virtual environment creating a feeling of standing inside the place and looking out. The panoramas can be stitched together from several normal photos or fisheye images taken with a circular fisheye lens, or captured with specialized panoramic cameras, or rendered from 3D-modeled scenes.

VR Panoramas can be either spherical (or cubic) or cylindrical. Spherical panorama covers a full sphere-like environment which reaches 180 degree vertically and 360 degree horizontally field of view. Cylindrical panorama does not include the top and bottom, so its vertical field of view is less than 180 degree. See following sample panorama images, and click to view QuickTime VR movies.

Spherical panorama

Cylindrical panorama

The above two VR panoramas are stitched and exported by Panoweaver. The spherical panorama is stitched from fisheye photos taken by Sigma 8mm fisheye lens and the cylindrical one is stitched from normal digital photos taken by Nikon D200 + 17-55mm lens. The photos are taken from the same nodal point, so the final QuickTime VR panoramas can show the virtual place at every angle, and you are just looking out from the same nodal point.